And, if you want to do the frozen apple juice deal, I've copied it off a message I sent someone a while back.
ETA: The simple instructions:
Mix up 2 cans of frozen apple juice ( NOT "with Calcium) in a one gallon glass or ceramic container.
Glugg in a cup or so of Braggs.
Cover with a paper towel secured with a rubber band.
Put it in your pantry and wait a month.
Done.
The long ones with more explanation:
It really doesn't take a lot of the mother type. You can glug in around a cup or more per gallon jug. Yes, do use the concentrate. Just be SURE it's not the kind "with added Calcium". It works much better than the bottled juice because of the enzymes. Which is great since the frozen is super cheap. Put it in a jar with the mother and just leave it for a month, with either a cloth or even a coffee filter or paper towel secured with a rubber band. You want it to be able to breathe yet get no bugs in it.
You can taste it with a straw from time to time if you're curious, just so long as mold does not grow. Dont' worry if it has brown "strings" in it, that is still the yeast from teh mother working. Warning: If mold does grow, throw the whole thing out. Mold will be green or red or some other odd color, not white or brown.
Another thing you might notice, is that for some reason one batch will be stronger than the next sometimes. I have PH strips and test, but for some reason one will taste way strong and still have the acidity that smoother tasting batches do. You're shooting for a PH above 4, but 3 is ok. So far, I've yet to make one that was under 3 with this method.
Make sure it stays above around 70 and below 85. It works best between 80 and 85 but I don't have central air and don't keep my kitchen at a constant temperature, yet it still works.
PS - I decided to try a batch using bottled apple juice and right now it's been cooking 2 months and still isn't ready.
